Forming tool for forming a supporting means in a thin-sheet top panel portion of a container closure cover



April 18, 1967 F. DAHL 3,314,272

on FORMING A FORMING TOOL F SUPPORTING MEANS IN A THIN-SHEET TOP PANEL PORTION OF A CONTAINER CLOSURE ER Filed July 6, 1964 5 eats-Sheet l INVENTOR.

Apnl 18, 1967 F. 1.. DAHL 3,314,272

FORMING TOOL FOR FORMING A SUPPORTING MEANS IN A THIN-SHEET TOP PANEL PORTION OF A CQNTAINER CLOSURE COVER Filed July 6, 1964 s SheetsSheet 2 INVENTOR.

gmziflazz April 18. 1967 F. DAHL 3,314,272

FORMING TOOL FOR FORMING A SUPPORTING MEANS IN A THIN-SHEET TOP PANEL PORTION OF A CONTAINER CLOSURE COVER Filed July 6, 1964 :5 $heets-$heet 3 INVENTOR United States Patent 3,314,272 FORMING TOOL FOR FORMING A SUPPORTING MEANS IN A THIN-SHEET TOP PANEL POR- TION OF A CONTAINER CLOSURE COVER Frank L. Dahl, 5248 W. 119th Place, Inglewood, Calif. 90304 Filed July 6, 1964, Ser. No. 380,345 8 Claims. (Cl. 72-325) Generally speaking, the present invention relates to a manually operable tool for use in modifying a conventional container closure cover so as to effectively provide same with an upwardly projecting supporting means carried by a thin-sheet top panel portion of the container closure cover and adapted to be placed upon and supported by a laterally projecting auxiliary support member which, in turn, may be carried by any suitable type of vertical wall or panel portion or other functional equivalent.

The advantages of such an arrangement are believed to be apparent since it becomes evident that any container or jar which has a container closure cover or lid of a deformable material, through the use of the forming tool of the present invention, may be modified so as to be capable of being mounted on a laterally projecting hook, pin, or nail so that any array of such laterally projecting hooks, pins, or nails, may be positioned on a desired wall space, either directly or through the use of multi-apertured pegboard or the like whereby to provide storage space for a large number of jars having lids modified by the forming tool of the present invention.

The above-mentioned arrangement will make it possible to conveniently, and yet in a readily accessible manner, store a large number of small quantities of different types of materials. For example, nails, screws, nuts and bolts, or the like, can be so stored on the wall of a tool shop, machine shop, or the like, or spices, condiments, or various cooking aids might be so stored on any conveniently accessible kitchen wall, or kitchen cabinet wall (either exterior or interior) and similar arrangements could be provided for storing virtually anything.

At the present time, various types of multi-receptacle storage structures for purposes generally similar to those outlined above may be obtained. However, normally, these are specially designed structures and are relatively expensive. Contrast this with the fact that such an arrangement can be made through the use of nails and ordinary jars having ordinary covers or lids by the use of the present invention.

This present application is directed primarily to a manually operable forming tool for forming such supporting means in conventional container closure covers of the type referred to above and for the purposes outlined above.

With the above points in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a forming tool of the type referred to hereinbefore including a die-carrying member provided with a cavity-defining die, and a punch-carrying member provided with a projection-defining punch. Said die-carrying member and said punch-carrying member are provided with mounting means movably mounting same for relative movement of said die and said punch toward and away from each other for forcible forming engagement thereof with respect to the thin-sheet panel portion of a container closure cover whereby to form same into an upwardly projecting supporting means of the type referred to hereinbefore; said mounting means being also arranged to provide for controllable movement of said punch and die away from each other for disengagement thereof from the container closure cover after the upwardly projecting supporting means has been formed therein.

3,314,272 Patented Apr. 18, 1967 "ice It is a further object of the present invention to provide a forming tool of the character referred to hereinbefore, wherein the punch is cooperable with the underneath or bottom surface of the thin-sheet panel portion of the container closure cover and wherein the die is cooperable with the top surface thereof during the forming operation referred to in the preceding object, whereby movement of said punch into forming engagement with respect to said die, with said thin-sheet panel portion of said container closure cover therebetween in said forming relationship, will form an upwardly projecting supporting means integral with said thin-sheet panel portion of said container closure cover and coopera-ble for supported engagement with respect to a laterally projecting support member such as a pin, nail, hook, or the like, whereby to support the container closure cover, and a container adapted to 'be engaged therewith, and whereby to do so in a controllably removable manner with respect to said auxiliary laterally projecting support member.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a forming tool of the character set forth in the preceding object, wherein said die comprises, defines, and has therein a receiving recess substantially in the form of a rectangular parallelopiped khaving shearing side portions laterally separated by a width substantially identical to, but slightly larger than the width separating corresponding shearing side wall portions of the punch and together therewith defining shearing means for shearing parallel side edges of a loop member, comprising said upwardly projecting supporting means, from the remainder of said top panel portion of said container closure cover when formed by the forcible engagement of said punch within said die with said top panel portion therebetween. In this arrangement the opposite end wall portions of the die are non-shearingly cooperable with opposite end portions of the punch whereby to leave corresponding opposite end portions of the supporting loop member formed out of said thin-sheet panel portion of the cover integrally connected therewith. Also, in this arrangement the punch comprises, defines, and has an effectively projecting portion having effectively curvedly connected opposite ends and having substantially parallel laterally spaced side shearing portions.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a forming tool of the character referred to in the second preceding object, wherein the punch and die comprise shearing means having shearing cooperation along two laterally adjacent parallel planes and having transverse shearing cooperation substantially perpendicular thereto across one end thereof and having non-shearing cooperation at the opposite end of said two laterally adjacent shearing planes whereby to be cooperable with the thinsheet panel portion of the container closure cover for shearing same along a substantially U-shaped shearing line whereby to effectively produce a supporting tab having a free end and an integrally connected end. In this arrangement, the punch and die means are also provided with piercing means cooperable with the supporting tab portion of the top panel portion for piercing same whereby to produce an aperture effectively comprising and defining a through-passage, with said supporting tab being deformable into an upwardly projecting position with said through-passage then being laterally directed for supported receiving cooperation with a laterally directed auxiliary support member such as a pin, nail, hook, or the like, as referred to hereinbefore.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide one form of the novel forming tool wherein the hereinbefore-mentioned movable mounting means comprises pivotal connection means connecting a portion of the diecarrying member with respect to a portion of the punchcarrying member in a manner such as to provide for controllable forcible movement of the punch and die toward and away from each other.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a forming tool of the type referred to in the preceding object, wherein said movable mounting means further includes guideway means adapted to guide said punch with respect to said die for perfect linear reciprocating relative movement.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel forming tool including a different type of movable mounting means from that referred to in the two preceding objects, wherein said movable mounting means comprises a threaded actuator means mounting one of the two movable elements comprising said punch and die with respect to the other thereof for positively vertically aligned screw-threaded advancement into forming engagement and for positive screw-threaded retraction for disengagement from a supporting means which has just been formed thereby out of a top panel portion of a container closure cover.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel manually operable forming tool of the character referred to herein generically and/ or specifically and including any or all of the features referred to herein, either individually or in combination, and which is of extremely simple, inexpensive construction requiring a minimum of tooling and/ or production costs and which is capable of mass manufacture at an extremely low cost per unit whereby to be conducive to widespread manufacture, distribution, and use of the invention.

Further objects are implicit in the detailed description which follows hereinafter (which is to be considered as exemplary of, but not specifically limiting, the present invention), and said objects will be apparent to persons skilled in and art after a careful study of the detailed description which follows.

For the purpose of clarifying the nature of the present invention, several exemplary embodiments are illustrated in the hereinbelow-described figures of the accompanying three sheets of drawings and are described in detail hereinafter.

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional view of one exemplary embodiment of the forming tool of the present invention in a nearly closed relations-hip.

FIG. 1A is a fragmentary view taken in the direction of the arrows 1A1A of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the forming tool of FIG. 1 in fully closed forming relationship with respect to one exemplary form of container closure cover and with a portion of the tool in the region of the punch and die being shown in section rather than in elevation substantially on the plane shown by the arrows 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2A is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken in the direction of the arrows 2A2A of FIG. 2.

FIG. 2B is a fragmentary side elevational view of the parts of the punch-carrying member and the die-carrying member mounting the punch and die, respectively, and illustrates means for removably and interchangeably mounting same.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary three-dimensional view illustrating the container closure cover of FIG. 2 after completion of the forming operation whereby to produce the upwardly projecting supporting loop means and after :he container closure cover has been engaged on the upper and of a depending container or jar (shown broken away for space conservation reasons).

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of a slightly modified lersion of the forming tool of the present invention in men position prior to being closed into forming relation- ;hip.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the Junch-carrying and die-carrying portions of the tool )f FIG. 4 in a slightly modified removable and interchangeable arrangement and in closed forming relationship with respect to a fragmentarily shown top panel portion of a container closure cove-r of the same type as that shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. This view is taken substantially on a plane such as is indicated by the arrows 55 of FIG. 4, although it is taken after the modified forming tool is moved from an open position such as that shown in FIG. 4 into the closed position shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary three-dimensional view illustrating a modified type of upwardly projecting supporting loop means produced by the modified forming tool of FIG. 4 and the tool of FIG. 5. This view also shows in phantom the modified type of laterally projecting auxiliary supporting member adapted to be received by the modified upwardly projecting supporting loop means of FIG. 6.

FIG. 7 is a view somewhat like FIG. 6 and illustrates another modified arrangement wherein two upwardly projecting supporting loop means are formed in the container closure cover, each of said supporting loop means being of a type similar to that shown in FIG. 3 and being adapted to be formed either simultaneously by a modified double punch and double die or to be formed successively by performing the operation shown in FIG. 2 twice.

FIG. 8 is a view generally similar to FIGS. 6 and 7 but illustrates a further modified type of supporting means formed out of, and integral with, the top panel portion of the container closure cover and, in this case, produced by using a different type of interchangeable or cast-inplace punch and die such as is illustrated in FIG. 9.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary side elevational view generally similar to the central portion of FIG. 4 on each side of the section plane indicated by the reference numerals 55 of FIG. 4 and shows the forming tool in open position but with a modified punch and a modified die being carried by the upper and lower relatively movable members of the forming tool; said modified punch and modified die being of a nature such as to form the free ended substantially U-shaped supporting tab shown in solid lines in FIG. 8 prior to being bent upwardly and having the through-aperture or through-passage pierced or punched therethrough. Subsequently, of course, said pierced free-ended supporting tab is adapted to be bent or to be deformed upwardly from the solid line position of FIG. 8 into the broken line position thereof so that it will become functionally equivalent to the other supporting means of the other forms of the invention illustrated.

Generally speaking, one exemplary form of the forming tool of the present invention is designated by the reference numeral 21 and may be said to comprise a diecarrying member, indicated generally at 22, and a punchcarrying member, indicated generally at 23. The diecarrying member 22 is effectively provided with a cavitydefining die, indicated generally at 24, and the punchcarrying member 23 is effectively provided with a projection-defining punch, indicated generally at 25. The diecarrying member 22 and the punch-carrying member 23 are effectively provided with movable mounting means for movably mounting the die-carrying member 22 and the punch-carrying member 23 for relative movement of the die 24 and the punch 25 toward each other for forming engagement thereof with respect to a thin-sheet panel portion of a container closure cover as will be described hereinafter and for relative movement away from each other to effectively disengage said die 24 and punch 25 from such a container closure cover and into separated open relationship to allow removal of the container closure cover, which has just had supporting means formed therein by the operation of the forming tool 21 as will be described hereinafter.

In the exemplary first form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1, 1A, 2, and 2A, the above-mentioned movable mounting means is generally designated by the reference numeral 26 and takes the form of pivotal mounting means or pivotal connection means positioned adjacent to similarly directed ends 27 and 28 of the die-carrying member 22 and the punch-carrying member 23, respectively.

It will be noted that, in said exemplary first form of the invention illustrated, said movable mounting means comprising said pivotal connection means 26 comprises a laterally apertured bifurcated yoke portion 29 and a similar laterally apertu-red tongue portion 3-1 adapted to be positioned between the laterally spaced parts of the bifurcated yoke portion 29 and to be effectively pivotally interconnected with respect to same by a horizontal pivot pin means 32 which may comprise :a bolt, headed rivet, or the like, thus providing for relative pivotal movement of the punch-carrying member 23 with respect to the diecarrying member 22 around the horizontal axis of the pivot pin 32, as indicated in broken lines at 33 in FIG. 1. It will be understood that this will, of course, relatively move the punch toward 'the die 24 or away from the die 24 for the purposes outlined above.

It will be noted that, in the exemplary first form of the invention illustrated, the die 24 effectively comprises, defines, and has therein a receiving recess R which is substantially in the form of a rectangular parallelopiped and has shearing side portions 34 laterally separated by a width substantially identical to, but slightly larger than, the width separating the shearing side wall portions 35 of the punch 25 and together therewith defining shearing means (comprising the elements designated by the reference numerals 34 and 35 as best shown in FIG. 1A) for shearing parallel side edges 36 of a loop member, designated generally at 37 and effectively comprising what might be termed normally upwardly projecting supporting means. I

It will be noted that opposite end Wall portions 38 of the die 24 are effectively non-shearingly cooperable with respect to opposite end portions 39 of the punch 25 whereby to leave corresponding opposite end portions 41 of the supporting loop member indicated generally at 37 (best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) integrally connected with the thin-sheet panel portion 42 comprising the top part of the container closure cover generally designated at 43.

It will be noted that the central portion 44 of the punch 25 effectively projects into a position whereby to be received at a substantial insertion depth within the recess R of the die 24 during the operation comprising the forming of the supporting loop member 37 as is best shown in FIGS. 2 and 2A. The configuration or shape of said central projecting portion 44 of the punch may assume several different forms. However, in the exemplary first form of the invention as is best shown in FIGS. 1-3, said central projecting portion 44 of the punch 25 comprises an arcuate projecting portion curvedly connected to and having said opposite end portions 39 thereof of similar curved configuration whereby to produce an arcuate normally upwardly projecting supporting loop member or supporting means as is best shown at 37 in FIG. 3.

It will be noted that, in order to produce an upwardly projecting supporting means in the form of an upwardly convex supporting loop member of the type shown at 37 in FIG. 3, a forming operation of the type shown in FIG. 2 may be performed wherein the container closure cover member 43 is placed in inverted relationship with respect to the forming tool 21 so that the punch 25 will be forcibly cooperable with the normally underneath or bottom surface 45 of the thin-sheet panel portion 42 of the container closure cover 43 and so that the die 24 will be cooperable with the outer upper and normally the top surface of said thin-sheet panel portion 42 of the container closure cover 43. This will make is possible for the handle portions 22H and 23H of the die-carrying and tool-carrying members 22 and 23 to be manually forced toward each other so that the punch 25 and die 24 will forcibly engage opposite surfaces of the central part of said thin-sheet panel portion 42 of the container closure cover 43 and sever the side edges 36 of the supporting loop member 37 and form same in outwardly projecting configuration as is clearly shown in both FIGS. 2, 2A and 3 so that it will be cooperable for supported engagement with respect to an auxiliary laterally projecting supporting member, such as is shown in phantom at 47 in FIG. 3 whereby to support the container closure cover 43 and a container, such as that shown fragmentarily at 46 and which is engaged with respect to the container closure cover 43-and to do so in a controllably removable manner with respect to said auxiliary laterally projecting supporting member shown fragmentarily in phantom at 47 in FIG. 3.

It should be noted that any type of auxiliary laterally projecting supporting member, such as the exemplary one shown fragmentarily in phantom at 47 in FIG. 3, may be employed for supporting cooperation with respect to the upwardly projecting supporting loop means 37 of FIG. 3 and that such auxiliary laterally projecting supporting members may comprise nails, pins, books, or the like, effectively carried by some additional auxiliary vertical wall member or panel member. Such a vertical wall member or panel member may be an ordinary wall surface or may be of a multi'apertured type commonly known as pegboard. In fact, any means providing for the mounting and positioning of any of variou types of auxiliary laterally projecting supporting members, one exemplary version of which is fragmentarily illustrated in phantom in FIG. 3 at 47, may be employed for supporting one or more containers by means of supporting loop means formed in the covers thereof in the manner of the supporting loop means shown at 37 formed in the container closure cover 43 of FIG. 3.

It should be noted that the container closure cover 43 shown in FIG. 3 is of the screw-threaded type adapted to threadedly engage the corresponding threaded upper end of a container such as is shown fragmentarily at 46 in FIG. 3. This allows the container to be threadedly engaged from the container closure cover 43 whenever desired and yet allows the supporting loop means 37 to effectively provide the container closure cover 43 with the additional function of acting a a support for the container 46 as referred to above.

It should, of course, be understood that the type of engagement between the contained closure cover 43 and the container 46 is not limited to the arrangement shown in FIG. 3 but may be modified substantially.

It should further be understood that the container closure cover 43 may be provided With an effectively liquidimpervious and/ or air-impervious inner sealing liner which is, of course, initially removed during the forming operation shown in FIGS. 2 and 2A, and is then replaced within the container closure cover 43 whereby to effectively seal the container 46 when the cover 43 is threaded thereonto in the manner shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 2B is a fragmentary view merely illustrating the fact that the punch 25 and die 24 of the first form of the invention shown in FIGS. 1, 1A, 2 and 2A may be of a controllably removable and interchangeable type.

Since all portions of this very slight modification of the first form of the invention are similar thereto, similar reference numerals, followed by the letter a, however, designate similar parts.

It will be noted that, as fragmentarily shown in FIG. 2B, the punch 25a and the corresponding portion of the punch-carrying member 23a are effectively provided with removable and interchangeable mounting means which, in the exemplary form illustrated comprises threaded locking screw means 48. Furthermore, it should be noted that, as fragmentarily shown in FIG. 2B, the die 24a and the corresponding portion of the die carrying member 22a are effectively provided with removable and interchangeable mounting means which, in the exemplary form illustrated comprises threaded locking screw means 49. The removable mounting means 48 and 49 may assume a variety of different forms and effectively act to make it possible to controllably remove and interchange the punch 25a and the die 24a so as to modify the type of upwardly projecting supporting means formed thereby, as exemplified in one non-limiting form at 37 in FIG. 3.

FIGS. 4 and 6 illustrate a slightly modified form of the invention, and similar reference numerals, followed by the letter b, however, are employed to designate parts similar to those of the first form of the invention.

In this modification, it will be noted that the punch 25b and also the die 24b are somewhat differently shaped and sized for the purpose of producing a slightly different shape of upwardly projecting supporting loop member or means such as is generally designated at 37b in FIG. 6. It will be noted that the shapes of said modified punch 25b and die 24b are such that the modified upwardly projecting supporting loop means 37b shown in FIG. 6 is such as to define a substantially rectangular throughaperture 50 adapted to laterally receive therethrough a slightly different type of auxiliary laterally projecting sup porting member from that shown at 47 in FIG. 3 illustrating the first form of the invention; said slightly modified auxiliary laterally projecting supporting member being shown in phantom at 47b in FIG. 6 and being of effective non-round cross-sectional configuration whereby to effectively non-rotatively and supportingly engage the modified upwardly projecting non-round supporting loop means 37b of FIG. 6. This type of arrangement is very effective for supporting a container closure cover, such as the modified one designated generally at 43b in FIG. 6 and a depending container 46b carried thereunder and shown fragmentarily in FIG. 6 even though the weight of any material carried within the container 46b is offcenter with respect to the modified supporting loop means 37b.

It should be noted that the die 24b and the punch 25b shown in FIG. 4 may be made of relatively hard metal cast in place within the somewhat softer metal of the die-carrying member 22b and the tool-carrying member 23b, respectively. This provides a very effective arrangement since the die 24b and punch 25b are the parts which wear, while the remainder of the complete forming tool 21b is subject to very little wear during use. This allows the substantial portion of the complete forming tool 21b to be made of relatively inexpensive metal while only the cast-in-place die and punch 24b and 25b, respectively, are made of hard high quality and relatively expensive metal.

While the above-described cast-in-place construction of the modified form of the tool shown in FIG. 4 provides a very advantageous arrangement for the reasons noted above, it should be noted that, if desired, in certain forms of the tool the die 24b may be integral with respect to the complete die-carrying member 22b, and the punch 25b may be integral with respect to the complete punchcarrying member 23b and of substantially the same material in a manner generally similar to the construction of the first form of the invention as best illustrated in FIGS. 1, 1A, 2 and 2A.

However, the modified form of the invention shown in FIG. 4 may have the die 24b and the punch 25b removably mounted in a controllably interchangeable manner similar to the modification of the first form of the invention as illustrated fragmentarily in FIG. 2B. Such a slight modification is illustrated in FIG. 5, and parts similar to-those of FIG. 4 and similar to those of FIG. 2B with respect to the removable and interchangeable mounting means 48 and 49 of FIG. 2B are indicated by similar reference numerals, followed by the letter b, and primed.

It will be noted that in this very slight variation shown in FIG. 5, the relatively hard punch 25b is effectively )rovided with removable and interchangeable mounting neans (for removably and interchangeably mounting said lunch 25b with respect to said punch-carrying member 23b) illustrated in one exemplary form as comprising threaded compression locking screw means 48b. Furthermore, it will be noted that in this very slight variation, the relatively hard die 24b is effectively provided with removable and interchangeable mounting means (for removably and interchangeably mounting said die 24b with respect to said die-carrying member 22b) illustrated in one exemplary form as comprising threaded tension locking screw means 4%. Otherwise, the very slight variation from the form of the invention illustrated in FIG. 4, shown in cross section in FIG. 5, is the same as the form illustrated in FIG. 4 and is adapted to produce a substantially rectangular projecting supporting loop means similar to that shown at 37b in FIG. 6 and designated by the reference numeral 37b in FIG. 5, and projecting from a similar container closure cover shown fragmentarily at 43b in FIG. 5.

The above-described arrangement of FIG. 5 makes it possible to interchange the punch 25b and the die 24b as desired.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate a further modified version of the invention adapted to form a slightly different type of supporting means functionally equivalent to the supporting means shown at 37 in FIG. 3 and the modified supporting means shown at 37b in FIG. 6. Parts of this modified form of the invention which functionally correspond to parts of the first form of the invention described hereinbefore are designated by similar reference numerals, followed by the letter 0, however.

It should be noted that in the modification of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, the punch 25c and the die 24c effectively comprise shearing means having shearing cooperation along two laterally adjacent parallel shearing planes, such as designated in broken lines at 51 and 52 in FIG. 8 relative to the supporting means 370, and having transverse shearing cooperation effectively across (although usually arcuately curved across) one end thereof, as designated by the broken lines indicated at 53 in FIG. 8, and having non-shearing cooperation at the opposite end of said two laterally adjacent shearing planes whereby to be cooperable with the thin-sheet top panel portion 42c of the container closure cover 43c as shown in FIG. 8 for shearing same along a substantially U-shaped shearing line designated by the reference numeral 54 in FIG 8 whereby to produce a supporting tab generally designated at 370 in FIG. 8 having a free end 55 and an opposite end 56 integrally connected with respect to and comprising part of the thin-sheet material of which the top panel portion 420 is made.

The modified shearing means comprised by the modified die 24c and modified punch 250 shown in FIG. 9 is also effectively provided with piercing means 57 cooperable with respect to the supporting tab portion 370 of FIG. 8 for effectively piercing same whereby to produce an aperture 58 effectively defining a through-passage.

It will be noted that the apertured supporting tab 370, comprising the modified type of supporting means illustrated in FIG. 8, is initially substantially in the solid line position shown in FIG. 8 and is then upwardly bent or deformed into an upwardly projecting position, such as is shown in phantom lines in FIG. 8, with said throughpassage 58 being laterally directed so as to function in substantially the same manner as that previously described with respect to FIG. 3 illustrating the first form of the invention and with respect to FIG. 6 illustrating a modified form of the invention for the reception of an auxiliary laterally projecting supporting member which may be of a substantially round or non-keyed type similar to that illustrated at 47 in FIG. 3, or which may be of a substantially non-round or effectively keyed type functionally equivalent to that shown at 47b in FIG. 6, in which case the laterally directed through-aperture 58 will normally be of substantially the same non-round shape and intended for substantially the same off-center weight-supporting purposes as previously described in connection 9 with the modified form of the invention illustrated in FIG. 6.

In other respects, the modified form of the invention illustrated fragmentarily in FIGS. 8 and 9 is substantially equivalent to earlier forms of the invention described in detail hereinbefore and, therefore, this modification will not be described in detail with respect to these similar aspects thereof.

FIG. 7 merely illustrates a further modified type of container closure cover 43d having modified upwardly projecting supporting means 37d which take the form of two supporting loop members designated by the reference numeral 37d and formed in the top panel portion 42d of the container closure cover 42d, thus making it possible to receive two auxiliary laterally projecting supporting members 47d whereby to provide a greater stability in the mounting engagement.

FIG. illustrates a further modification of the invention, and similar parts are designated by similar reference numerals, followed by the letter e, however.

It will be noted that in the modification of FIG. 10, the major difference from the earlier forms of the invention described hereinbefore lies in the fact that the movable mounting means is slightly modified and comprises pivotal mounting means generally designated by the reference numeral 26e and including an effective pivot pin or bolt 32s connecting the upper punch-carrying member 23e with respect to an upper portion of a C-shaped extension member 59 carried by the lower die-carrying member 222; said upper portion of said C-shaped extension member 59 being provided with guideway means generally designated at 61 and effectively comprising a rectangularly shaped vertical aperture or hole 62 vertically slidably carrying the vertically directed plunger member 63 which has the punch 25e at the lower end thereof in perfect vertical alignment with the die 24a positioned therebelow.

The punch-carrying member 23e has its forward end passing through a slot 64 in the upper end of the plunger member 63 to provide for the varying radial distance between said member and the pivot pin 32e as the handle portion 23He is moved downwardly toward the lower handle portion 22He during a forming operation.

It will be noted that the upper portion of the C-shaped extension member 59 has a front cover plate 65 fastened by screw means 66 to the rear portion thereof, thus allowing the entire cover plate 65 to be placed in the relationship shown in FIG. 10 after the mounting of the punchcarrying member 232, the plunger member 63, and the punch 25s in operative relationship as shown in FIG. 10, thus facilitating assembly of the modified forming tool shown in FIG. 10. This feature also facilitates any necessary repairs and/ or removal and interchanging of the punch 25:: if desired.

In this modification it will be noted that the die Me is also of the type which can be controllably removed and interchanged and is adapted to be screw-mounted and retained by means of a thumbscrew 49e. Otherwise, this modified form of the invention is very similar to the earlier forms of the invention described hereinbefore, and no further description is thought necessary.

FIG. 11 is a further modification of the invention very similar to the version illustrated in FIG. 10 and similar parts are designated by similar reference numerals, followed by the letter 1, however. The major difference of this modification of the invention from the version illustrated in FIG. 10 is the fact that the plunger means 63f is rotatively connected at its top, as indicated at 68, to the lower end of an exteriorly threaded actuating member 69 which is threadedly received within the threaded interior aperture 71 carried within the upper portion of the C-shaped extension member 59f whereby to make it possible to threadedly move the punch 25 downwardly toward the die 24 and whereby to also make it possible to retract same when desired after a forming operation. The upper end of the threaded actuating screw 69 is provided with a cross-rod type of actuating handle 72 which facilitates the application of torque to the threaded actuating screw 69. This modification of the invention is shown as not having a separable cover plate similar to that shown at 65 in FIG. 10. However, if desired, in certain forms of the invention, it may be provided with such a separable cover plate.

It should be noted that the various punch and die structures illustrated in the figures of the drawings and described in detail hereinbefore are exemplary of the present invention but are not intended to be construed as specifically limiting the invention to the exact configurations thereof for producing the corresponding illustrated specific types of upwardly extending supporting means. For example, it should be noted that the upwardly extending supporting tab 37c illustrated in FIG. 8 may have the effective through-passage 58 formed in a manner which does not require piercing same through the tab 37c. As an alternate, the upper free end 55 of said tab 370 may be caused to be formed or bent into a generally hook-like configuration such that spaced parts thereof may be said to effectively define therethrough what might be termed a through-aperture functionally equivalent to that shown at 58 in FIG. 8, although not made by piercing the tab 370. This is so since said effective hook-like structure defining such a functionally equivalent through-passage would be quite capable of receiving therethrough an auxiliary support member such as the one shown in phantom at 47 in FIG. 3, or any functional equivalent thereof. This is exemplary only of the fact that the various different types of upwardly projecting supporting means may be modified and still function for effectively supporting a container closure cover and a container carried thereby and that the punch and die elements of the various forms of the present invention may be correspondingly modified within the broad scope and teachings of the present invention.

It should be understood that the figures and the specific description thereof set forth in this application are for the purpose of illustrating the present invention and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention to the precise and detailed specific structure shown in the figures and specifically described hereinbefore. Rather, the real invention is intended to include substantially equivalent constructions embodying the basic teachings and inventive concept of the present invention.

I claim:

1. A non-progressive, single-step, stretch-forming tool for stretch-forming an upwardly projecting supporting loop means in a thin-sheet top panel portion of a container closure cover, comprising: a die-carrying member provided with a cavity-defining die; a punch-carrying member provided with a projection-defining punch; and movable mounting means movably mounting said diecarrying and punch-carrying members for relative movement of said die and punch toward and away from each other for support-forming engagement thereof with respect to a thin-sheet top panel portion of a container closure cover and for disengagement therefrom for removal of said container closure cover after said supportforming operation; said punch comprising and defining a projecting intermediate portion having laterally spaced shearing side portions; said punch having opposite end portions positioned substantially behind the position of maximum projection of said projecting intermediate por tion thereof; said die comprising, defining, and having therein a receiving recess substantially in the form of a rectangular parallelopiped and having shearing side portions laterally separated by a width substantially identical to but slightly larger than the width separating the shearing side portions of said punch and together therewith defining shearing means for shearing side edges of a loop member comprising said normally upwardly projecting supporting loop means when stretch-formed in a non-progressive, single-step operation by the forcible engagement of said punch within said die with a thinsheet top panel portion of a container closure cover therebetween, said die having opposite end wall portions non-shearingly cooperable with said opposite end portions of the loop member stretch-formed of the thinsheet top panel portion of the container closure cover and integrally connected therewith; said movable mounting means comprising pivotal connection means positioned adjacent to forward ends of said punch-carrying member and said die-carrying member; said punch-carrying member and said die-carrying member having longitudinally rearwardly extended, spaced-apart handle portions positioned with respect to said pivotal connection means rearwardly and forwardly, respectively, of said corresponding projection-defining punch and cavity-defining die in a manner such that the non-progressive, singlestep, stretch-forming engagement of said punch and die occurs between the rear position of said handle portions when manually squeezed together and said forwardly positioned pivotal connection means.

2 Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said die is removably mounted in said die-carrying member in a controllably interchangeable manner.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said punch is removably mounted within said punch-carrying memher in a controllably interchangeable manner.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said die is removably mounted in said die-carrying member in a controllably interchangeable manner, and wherein said punch is removably mounted within said punch-carrying member in a controllably interchangeable manner.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said die is cast in place with respect to said die-carrying member.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said punch is cast in place with respect to said punch-carrying member.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said die is cast in place with respect to said die-carrying member, and wherein said punch is cast in place with respect to said punch-carrying member.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said pivotal connection means further includes guideway means guiding said punch in perfect alignment with said die.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 410,723 9/1889 Wiesing 72326 455,253 6/1891 Hummel 72326 604,589 5/1898 Moran 72327 XR 824,551 6/1906 Levis 72-409 XR 1,871,321 8/1932 Hayford et al. 72416 2,591,483 4/1952 West 72338 X 2,610,390 9/1952 Locke 113119 XR 2,620,879 12/1952 Fechter 72326 WILLIAM W. DYER, JR., Primary Examiner.

L. VLACHOS, Examiner. 

1. A NON-PROGRESSIVE, SINGLE-STEP, STRETCH-FORMING TOOL FOR STRETCH-FORMING UPWARDLY PROJECTING SUPPORTING LOOP MEANS IN A THIN-SHEET TOP PANEL PORTION OF A CONTAINER CLOSURE COVER, COMPRISING: A DIE-CARRYING MEMBER PROVIDED WITH A CAVITY-DEFINING DIE; A PUNCH-CARRYING MEMBER PROVIDED WITH A PROJECTION-DEFINING PUNCH; AND MOVABLE MOUNTING MEANS MOVABLY MOUNTING SAID DIECARRYING AND PUNCH-CARRYING MEMBERS FOR RELATIVE MOVEMENT OF SAID DIE AND PUNCH TOWARD AND AWAY FROM EACH OTHER FOR SUPPORT-FORMING ENGAGEMENT THEREOF WITH RESPECT TO A THIN-SHEET TOP PANEL PORTION OF A CONTAINER CLOSURE COVER AND FOR DISENGAGEMENT THEREFROM FOR REMOVAL OF SAID CONTAINER CLOSURE COVER AFTER SAID SUPPORTFORMING OPERATION; SAID PUNCH COMPRISING AND DEFINING A PROJECTING INTERMEDIATE PORTION HAVING LATERALLY SPACED SHEARING SIDE PORTIONS; SAID PUNCH HAVING OPPOSITE END PORTIONS POSITIONED SUBSTANTIALLY BEHIND THE POSITION OF MAXIMUM PROJECTION OF SAID PROJECTING INTERMEDIATE PORTION THEREOF; SAID DIE COMPRISING, DEFINING, AND HAVING THEREIN A RECEIVING RECESS SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE FORM OF A RECTANGULAR PARALLELOPIPED AND HAVING SHEARING SIDE PORTIONS LATERALLY SEPARATED BY A WIDTH SUBSTANTIALLY IDENTICAL TO BUT SLIGHTLY LARGER THAN THE WIDTH SEPARATING THE SHEARING SIDE PORTIONS OF SAID PUNCH AND TOGETHER THEREWITH DEFINING SHEARING MEANS FOR SHEARING SIDE EDGES OF A LOOP MEMBER COMPRISING SAID NORMALLY UPWARDLY PROJECTING SUPPORTING LOOP MEANS WHEN STRETCH-FORMED IN A NON-PROGRESSIVE, SINGLE-STEP OPERATION BY THE FORCIBLE ENGAGEMENT OF SAID PUNCH WITHIN SAID DIE WITH A THINSHEET TOP PANEL PORTION OF A CONTAINER CLOSURE COVER THEREBETWEEN, SAID DIE HAVING OPPOSITE END WALL PORTIONS NON-SHEARINGLY COOPERABLE WITH SAID OPPOSITE END PORTIONS OF THE LOOP MEMBER STRETCH-FORMED OF THE THINSHEET TOP PANEL PORTION OF THE CONTAINER CLOSURE COVER AND INTEGRALLY CONNECTED THEREWITH; SAID MOVABLE MOUNTING MEANS COMPRISING PIVOTAL CONNECTION MEANS POSITIONED ADJACENT TO FORWARD ENDS OF SAID PUNCH-CARRYING MEMBER AND SAID DIE-CARRYING MEMBER; SAID PUNCH-CARRYING MEMBER AND SAID DIE-CARRYING MEMBER HAVING LONGITUDINALLY REARWARDLY EXTENDED, SPACED-APART HANDLE PORTIONS POSITIONED WITH RESPECT TO SAID PIVOTAL CONNECTION MEANS REARWARDLY AND FORWARDLY, RESPECTIVELY, OF SAID CORRESPONDING PROJECTION-DEFINING PUNCH AND CAVITY-DEFINING DIE IN A MANNER SUCH THAT THE NON-PROGRESSIVE, SINGLESTEP, STRETCH-FORMING ENGAGEMENT OF SAID PUNCH AND DIE OCCURS BETWEEN THE REAR POSITION OF SAID HANDLE PORTIONS WHEN MANUALLY SQUEEZED TOGETHER AND SAID FORWARDLY POSITIONED PIVOTAL CONNECTION MEANS. 